The Eleventh European Social Science History conference will take place from 30 March to 2 April 2016 at the Medical Faculty of the University of Valencia, Spain. The aim of the ESSHC is to bring together scholars who explain historical phenomena using the methods of the social sciences. The conference is characterized by a lively, small group exchange, rather than in formal plenary sessions. The conference is organized in many networks covering specific topics. It welcomes papers and sessions on any historical topic and any historical period.

The Women and Gender Network would like to invite proposals for panel sessions and individual papers for the next meeting in Valencia. Our main theme will be Gender in a Globalizing World. We would like to invite submissions along the following bigger themes, but not necessarily limited to them:
-What does it mean to research gender in a global world?
-Comparative Gender and Women’s histories;
-Gender identities, diverse cultures and politics of belonging in a long-term perspective;
-Gendered bodies and physical spaces in historical settings;
-Gender and environment;
-Gender and urban studies;
-Gender and crime.

We also strongly encourage to submit proposals broadly falling under the interests of the network and not necessarily connected with the main theme.

Panel sessions last two hours, and generally include four papers on a specific theme, usually followed by a short discussant presentation, and with a chair. Ideally, panel contributors should come from a mix of countries, and certainly a mix of universities. We are particularly interested in proposals for comparative and/or inter-disciplinary thematic panels, but we will be happy to discuss any ideas you wish to put forward. The earlier you contact us, the more advice we will be able to offer.

If you are proposing an individual paper, please, remember, that there are far more papers and panels proposed than can be fitted within the available amount of sessions. Therefore, each participant is only allowed to present one paper. If your individual proposal is accepted, we will either place it within an appropriate session, or put together a composite panel of related or cognate submissions. By exception, we will put five papers in one session. Again, if you would like advice on framing a proposal, do please contact us to discuss your ideas. At the conference, the chairs will inform you about the choices made during the network session.

The deadline for submitting proposals via the ESSHC website https://esshc.socialhistory.org/esshc-valencia-2016 (using their online registration system) is 1 May 2015. Regardless of whether you have already discussed your plans with us, you will still need to register and submit your proposal officially via this route. For those of you preparing panel sessions, it is possible for the chair/organizer to propose the entire session (although the individual participants will still need to register). Please note that the ESSHC offers substantial discounts for postgraduates but is not able to fund travel or subsistence expenses for any category of speaker, and so if you are seeking to organize a panel you will need to make sure that all your speakers are aware that they’ll have to cover their own costs.

Marianna Muravyeva, muravyevam@gmail.com
Bettina Brandt, bettina.brandt@uni-bielefeld.de
Elisabeth Elgan, elisabeth.elgan@historia.su.se